ON THIS DAY: Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1861

Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans has arrayed Union forces along a western Virginia turnpike in the Kanahwa region. Brigades are stationed at intervals from Gauley Bridge eastward ten miles along the turnpike. Robert E. Lee has settled his forces a few miles away. For the moment, both sides seem content to watch and wait. Rosecrans’ commanders include several Ohioans. Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox is in charge of the District of the Kanawha, while his brigade commanders include Cols. Robert C. Schenck, Robert L. McCook, and Eliakim Scammon—Ohioans all.

Elsewhere in western Virginia, a Union force composed of several regiments, none from Ohio, gets into a lively little scrap at Bolivar Heights but escapes to return to safety at Harpers Ferry.

Overall, however, it is a slow day for Ohio soldiers almost everywhere. In Kentucky, Battery F of Ohio’s 1^st Light Artillery is involved in a skirmish near Wildcat Mountain. Skirmishes can turn into major engagements but often they amount to little more than a few shots fired and a lot of nerves jangled. So goes the life of soldiers—long intervals of drudgery interrupted now and then by moments of terror.

ON THIS DAY: Friday, Oct. 4, 1861

In Lynchburg, Ohio, a group of 60 enthusiastic volunteers begin drilling at “Camp Harvey,” a local warehouse donated for the purpose by Mr. Josiah Harvey. They were sworn into the service yesterday by local school teacher John W. Frazee. Beginning in late summer, the energetic Frazee had rounded up recruits, then gone to Columbus to secure a captain’s commission. The men will practice what they fondly believe are the military arts until they are ordered, in 10 days’ time, to a real military camp: Camp Dennison, near Cincinnati. There they will become part of the 48^th Ohio.

Today is the 39th birthday of Rutherford B. Hayes, major of the 23rd Ohio, now serving in western Virginia. On this "warm day with clouds gathering," Hayes enjoys a birthday dinner with Brig. Gen. Robert C. Schenck, who has just taken command of Hayes' brigade. An Ohioan like Hayes, Schenck is celebrating a birthday of his own: he is 51.

Near Washington, President Lincoln watches a balloon demonstration. Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, a New Hampshire man who had long been fascinated with the idea of air travel, is the Union’s expert on balloon travel. Lowe will eventually conduct several balloon reconnaissances for Union generals, only to resign in 1863 over frustration with the army bureaucracy.